


The Spider Strikes

by uofmdragon



Series: Natasha: The Demon Slayer [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Buffyverse, Alternate Universe - College/University, Character Death, Library, M/M, Watchers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-04 22:17:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1795123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uofmdragon/pseuds/uofmdragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of Natasha's hidden enemies makes a move, which leaves Natasha with one less ally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Spider Strikes

**Author's Note:**

> Alas no beta, due to a variety of reasons, which I will not get into here. I did read it over really well.
> 
> If you want to know the character death, it's in the end notes. Otherwise, no spoilers.

Phil dropped the seat of his last class on Mondays, a discussion for one of the larger lectures. He tugged his computer out, setting it up, so that he could take notes. He was seated in the front and the seats of the discussion were filling up, there was only one seat open and that was next to him. Of course, that meant it was time for Barton to arrive and grab the last seat of the front row.

Phil was quietly surprised with how often he'd caught Barton up in front or towards the front throughout the semester so far. He couldn't remember seeing him upfront in high school when they had shared classes. Phil glanced at Barton out of the corner of his eye, having Barton close made him uneasy. 

Barton didn't seem to be bothered by Phil, busily unpacking his own things. Until a pencil slipped from Clint's grasp and rolled toward Phil. Phil tensed, waiting for a sarcastic comment from Clint as he knew that Barton had to know that Phil was next to him now. He saw Barton grab the pencil, but nothing ever came. When Phil dared to glance at Clint again, he was staring straight at the board, phone on his desk and notebook sitting out. Phil glanced away, ready to pay attention as the Graduate Assistant started the class.

Phil couldn't help, stealing looks every so often. Barton was actually paying attention to everything the G.A. was saying and taking studious notes. Long fingers wrapped around a pencil and Phil could almost imagine…

No. He was not thinking about that, especially not about Barton. Barton might be pretty on the outside, but it was a trick. Phil turned his attention back to class.

"Mr. Wilson?" the GA asked as class was starting to wind down.

"We have a partner assignment and I'd like to know if we're getting partners assigned or what?" 

"Thank you for the reminder. I'll be assigning partners and I suppose I should do this now?"

"Please," Wilson said.

"Fine," the GA agreed, grabbing a sheet of paper. "Adams and Andrews, you'll be partners. Barton and Coulson, another team."

Phil blanched, looking over at Clint. The other man was frowning, but he voice any objections. The instructor finished going down the list and Phil glanced at Clint, who was packing up.

"The first part is due in two weeks, we might want to get together to figure out how what parts to do." 

"I can't now," Clint said. "I've got class."

"I didn't say now," Phil growled. 

"Whatever," Clint stated, slinging his bag over his shoulder and heading for the door.

"Barton!" Phil said, hurrying to catch up with him. 

"My class is across campus," Clint said. "I don't have time to talk now, Coulson. I live next door, we can talk later." Clint sped up and Phil watched him stalk off for a long moment. Barton was going to blow him off, he was sure of it. Phil scowled, before heading the other way to go back to the dorm. He headed straight to Natasha's room, hoping that she would be in.

"Hey," he said, seeing her door was open.

"Hey," Natasha said, looking up from her books. "What's the matter?"

"Barton," Phil said, going to flop on Natasha's bed.

"What did he do?" Natasha asked.

"We have the same discussion group and we just got assigned as partners for this project," Phil grumbled. "I tried to get him to talk about it and he refused, so I'm going to end up doing this whole project by myself just watch..."

"I'm sorry," Natasha said.

"Yeah, it sucks," Phil said. "How was your day?"

"Alright," Natasha replied. "I have a paper that's do next week. I'm not looking forward to it."

"Well, if you fiinish it early, I can proof it for you," Phil offered.

"Would you?" Natasha asked, turning to look at him.

"Yeah," Phil agreed. "I can at least make sure that you're not getting marked down for bad grammar or because spell check didn't realize you were using the right word."

"Thank you," Natasha said, giving him a smile.

"Ugh, I should go study," Phil said, pushing himself up. "Wanna meet for dinner later?"

Natasha shook her head. "I can't, I've got training and I'm not sure I'll be back in time."

Phil nodded. "Fair enough." 

Phil headed back to his room to study while he could, since Barton apparently had class. There wasn't any music and Phil got a lot of work done, losing time until someone started pounding on his door.

Phil got up and peered into the peephole to find a furious looking Barton on the other side.

"Open the door Coulson, I can see your shadow," Barton snarled. Coulson glanced behind him and sure enough there was enough light streaming out that Barton just might be able to tell that Phil was at the door.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Phil said. "I'd rather not get hit."

"Fine, call off your fucking attack dog then!" Barton growled, pounding once on the door for emphasis. Phil almost felt the need to bolt it shut.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Phil stated calmly.

"I'm talking about Natasha, and how I'm coming back from my fucking class, and I get yelled at for blowing you off," Clint snapped. "I have classes, too!"

"You wouldn't even tell me when we could talk about!" Phil defended himself.

"We live next door!" Clint argued. "I knew we'd catch one another and I didn't have time to talk! You could have at least given me a fucking chance before sending her after me."

Phil considered, but he supposed Barton was right. "I'm sorry," Phil said softly.

"What?" Clint snapped. "You're going to have speak up, because there's a fucking door between us."

"Promise not to hit me."

"Promise," Clint relented and Phil watched as he put his hands up and then stepped back away from the door. Phil cautiously opened the door to meet Clint's glare.

"I'm sorry," Phil repeated. "I went and complained to Natasha, because I thought you were blowing me off, but I didn't think she'd do anything about it." Phil wanted to squirm away from Barton's unflinching look, but he didn't. Apparently, it was the right move because Barton's shoulders dropped as the tension left.

"I guess," Barton started, glancing away as his hands dropped. "I guess, I have a history of blowing you off, so even though that was not my intention this time. Some of that is probably deserved." Clint glanced back to meet Phil's eyes. 

Phil tried not to die of shock at Barton apologizing. "So this project, when do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't think it's a good idea tonight."

"Why?"

"I get that you have no control over what Natasha does, but I'm still ticked." He sighed, running a hand over his face. "It's been a long ass day."

"OK." Phil agreed. He'd rather have Barton in a good mood. 

"Tomorrow? I know you don't like leaving things until the last minute."

Phil blinked in surprise, he hadn't expected Barton to offer such an early meeting. "My classes are all over the place, tomorrow. I don't think I can make it back here during the day."

"Library?" Barton suggested.

Phil nodded. "I've got a break between nine and eleven and one and four."

Barton made a face. "You have an eight o'clock class?"

"Yes," Phil said, crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry," Barton said. "I made plans to have lunch with some people. I can probably be there by 1:30, maybe earlier."

"Okay," Phil agreed with a nod.

With that Barton turned and took the few steps to his room. Phil sighed and closed his door.

*

Phil rounded the corner that led to Blake's office. He planned on checking in with him and taking care of a few things before Barton showed up. He'd debated leaving a reminder on the wipeboard on Barton's door, but had decided that it might antagonize Barton. Barton did appear to be trying after all. 

The door to Blake's office was partially open and the force of the knock opened it further. Phil stepped in. "Bla…" 

Phil froze, taking in the red that seemed to be everywhere in the room. He turned, exiting the room and heading back toward the front of the library. A hand landed on his arm and he jerked away.

"Coulson?" Barton said.

Someone made a noise and Phil realized it was him.

"What happened?"

Phil gestured toward Blake's office. He wasn't sure how to describe what he had seen. He still hadn't processed it himself.

Barton glanced in that direction, before heading where Phil had come from.

Phl grabbed his arm. "Don't."

"Then tell me what happened," Barton insisted.

Phil shook his head.

Barton guided him to one of the small couches and the next thing Phil knew he was looking up at the other man. "Stay here."

Phil nodded unsure of what else he could say. He sat though, because that room had been covered in blood… Blake's blood judging by the…

"Coulson!" Barton snapped suddenly in Phil's face. 

Phil blinked.

"Hey, stay with me," Clint said, taking a seat next to him. His phone was out. "I'm calling the cops, okay."

The cops, Phil should have called them, that's what he was supposed to. There was just so much blood and… Phil shuddered. He probably would have kept on shuddering, but there was a firm weight suddenly across his shoulders, holding him down.

*

Natasha hustled into the library, there was already a crowd gathering behind the police cordon. She ducked around it, moving without hesitation, because she knew that Phil was in there. He'd texted her and told her to come as soon as she could. She walked with a purpose and no one questioned her as she moved through the library.

She spotted Phil and froze when she realized that Barton sat next to him. Clint's arm was wrapped around his shoulders. Barton was watching the whole room, his eyes sweeping over the whole room. She was lucky he hadn't spotted her yet, because she watched as Clint's features softened as he glanced down at Phil. He said something, but Phil didn't react. 

Natasha moved closer, she knew when Barton caught sight of her, because he stiffened and gently nudged Phil. "Natasha's here, see told you I'd text her for you."

"Are you okay?" Natasha asked as she got near, looking at Phil.

"Blake's dead," Phil said in lieu of greeting.

"Are you sure?"

"Someone's definitely dead," Barton interrupted.

Natasha glanced at him. He seemed so much calmer than Phil and Natasha couldn't think of a reason that he would be. "You seem to be taking it remarkably well."

Clint shrugged. "I'll freak out later." He shifted, pulling away from Coulson and getting up. Phil stared up at him, looking a little lost. 

"Are you leaving?" Phil asked.

"I can't," Clint replied. "Police are going to want to question us. But I figured you'd rather have your friend next to you than me."

"Yeah…" Phil agreed, looking at Natasha. She moved to take Clint's spot. He brushed by her, and she almost missed him adding. "He's in shock."

Natasha blinked in surprise, there was something familiar about that. She couldn't place it now, but she needed to focus on Phil.

"You okay?" Natasha asked Phil.

Phil nodded. "I will be. It's just…"

The first time he's seen a dead body, Natasha finished for him internally. "You don't have to say anything." She wondered if demons had anything to do with it, but they couldn't have. They'd set the wards just last week so that the demons wouldn't be able to harm Blake in the library. It didn't make sense. She was going to have to come back later for now she needed to be there for Phil.

Natasha glanced over to find that Barton had settled nearby. He wasn't looking at them, but he was positioned that he could keep track of them out of the corner of his eye. Natasha was fairly sure that they had more of Clint's attention than the rest of the room. They waited until the police came and separated Clint and Phil, speaking to each one at length. Natasha waited for Phil and then walked him back to the dorm. 

*

Natasha was grateful that her roommate was out tonight, because it made it so much easier to slip out and back to the library. The police weren't guarding the scene, and she easily slipped past the tape. Blake's office was a mess and though his body had been removed, there were still stains and the odor of blood clung to the room.

"Oh, Blake," Natasha murmured. She hadn't especially liked Blake, but he'd been getting better. He was certainly being nicer to Phil and now this. She sighed softly, trying to figure out what to do about this mess.

She turned when she heard a heavy footstep and found… "Hawkeye?"

The archer clearly smirked. His face for once not hidden in shadows, though this time he had a black knit cap on and the hood of his black hoodie was up. She could just make out the dark purple of a -shirt underneath, which matched the purple glasses covering his eyes. He looked like a college student. He must have read the question in her eyes, because he grinned as he explained. "I think my usual get up would be a blatant clue that I don't belong here."

"Probably," Natasha agreed. "What are you doing here?"

"Guy dies a gruesome death in a library," Hawkeye drolled. "Figured it might be a Watcher."

"He was," Natasha admitted.

Hawkeye nodded. 

"We put up wards last week to keep demons out and now this…"

"Well, not all wards can protect against all things. The question is what did you miss?"

"I don't know. Phil was more involved in that than me and he's not in any shape to ask questions."

"Taking it hard then?"

"I think it's the first time he's seen someone killed."

"And judging by magical residue, it wasn't a pleasant death."

Natasha looked back at him. "Magical residue?"

Hawkeye moved, flipping something to her. She caught it, before she even realized he'd tossed it. Another pair of the purple sunglasses were in her hand. She slipped them on and felt her eyes widen as she suddenly could see a dark red that permeated the room. 

"What is that?"

"Blood magic," Hawkeye replied. "They used Blake and looks like they used it destroy the wards."

Natasha turned, looking out side the room. She could see the shimmers, like shards of glass decorating the library. "Blew it from the inside, but how'd a demon even get in?"

"Maybe it wasn't a demon or at least now wholly demon."

"We warded against possessed humans."

"Possessed implies unwanted though."

"You think someone would willing let a demon ride around in their body?" Natasha asked.

Hawkeye chuckled. "I never expected a naive slayer."

Natasha scowled at him and blinked when she realized that there was magic all around his head. It was odd. She wondered if she was seeing the magic in the glasses themselves, though that wouldn't explain the concentration of magical energy by his ears.

"I'm sorry, do you still believe that there aren't humans that are just as bad Jotuns?"

"You really think there are humans that would ally themselves with demons?"

"No, I know they would. Some would even ally themselves with Jotuns without having the Jotuns resort to their trickery."

Natasha frowned as she considered the idea. A human would have been able to get in and if they willingly agreed to work with a demon… Did that make them her responsibility to eliminate the threat to the rest of the human population? Now, she really wished Blake was here, so that she could talk this over with him.

"Spider," Hawkeye whispered, suddenly in the room and in one corner.

"What?" Natasha asked, looking at the corner he was peering in. There was a slight glimmer of something in the corner. She peered over the top of the glasses and it was gone. "What is that?"

"We're dealing with a spider demon," Hawkeye said, stepping away and holding out his hand.

"You got that from that little line?"

"Looks like a spider web that can only be seen when looking at magic, spider demon," Hawkeye shrugged. "Glasses please."

"Do you know who that is?"

Hawkeye hesitated. "Not for sure."

"Tell me."

"So you can slay them?" Hawkeye asked. "When I know for sure, I'll handle it."

"I want to know."

"Too bad," Hawkeye growled removing the glasses and heading out the door. "I got the information I wanted. You're on your own in figuring it out."

She moved to follow him. "You are so infuriating." 

"Don't care, Slayer." 

"Well, I'm not taking my eyes off of you again."

"Then I guess, I have to play ninja." 

Something metallic bounced against the floor, she resisted the urge to look down. "Play ninja?" Natasha asked. There was a sudden hissing sound as gas was released, obscuring her vision. Natasha cursed. She bolted through the gas, but it was already too late. Hawkeye was gone. She waited long enough for the smoke to clear, so that she could find his little toy. She grabbed it and slipped out of the building. 

*

Phil stared up at the ceiling. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Blake and he couldn't sleep. Not even with the scanner making noise or Bruce's presence. Phil sighed and quietly got out of bed. He grabbed his room key and stepped into the hall where the light was. He leaned against the wall and slid down it. He didn't know what to do, he was only in that room for a brief seconds, but he just couldn't shake the images.

"Here," the soft voice said and suddenly a mug was in his line of sight. Phil blinked following the muscled arm up to find Barton, who was looking concerned.

"What's this for?" Phil asked, taking the mug. It was warm.

"I just walked by you like three times and you didn't even notice," Barton said, slipping into his room and returning a few seconds later with his own cup. He sat down next to Phil. "Figured what happened today was on your mind, so I made some tea."

"You drink tea?"

"On occasion," Barton said, taking a sip. 

Phil eyed him dubiously. 

Clint sighed. "It helps me sleep."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, Bruce recommended it actually."

"My roommate Bruce?"

"Ran into me last year, recognized my insomnia, and made me a cup. It helped me actually get some sleep."

"I didn't know you even knew Bruce."

"I don't, well, not as well as you do. Just insomnia and when we've run into each other at yoga."

Phil's eyebrow arched. "You do yoga?"

"On occasion, it's bit… slow for my tastes."

"I can't imagine you doing yoga."

"Well, I don't. At least not very often. So yeah, I know Bruce. Actually Tony knows him better than me."

"How did Tony and Bruce meet?"

"Yoga."

"Tony Stark went to yoga? Yeah, that's harder to believe than you going to yoga."

"No, it's not. You and I both know there's one person who can talk him into doing anything."

"Pepper." 

Barton nodded. "Pepper finds yoga relaxing and dragged Tony to it. Bruce was there and they ended up talking science the whole time in the corner. Tony has never gone again."

Phil smiled. "But you have."

"Yeah, I have friends that like it and it's not horrible…."

Phil glanced at the corner of his eyes and laughed, because Barton's face said a completely different story. He reluctantly gave in and took a cautious sip of the tea. "That doesn't explain what you're doing out here."

"You had a shit ass day. You saw something horrible. I know I'm an asshole, but I'm not…" Barton trailed off. "I'm not going to kick you when you're down, Coulson."

"You seem to be handling it just fine."

"Don't judge yourself by me," Clint said. "I'm… I'm fucked in the head man. You, you're reacting in the right way for you. I should be freaking out as much as you."

Phil blinked, surprised to hear words of support come out of Barton's mouth. "Maybe you're reacting in the right way for you."

"Maybe," Barton agreed, though he didn't sound too sure. "Either way, it sucks and we're not… friendly, but… I'm not… I'm not going to make this worse for you."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me for being a decent human being, man."

"You didn't have to bring me tea though."

"I… I guess not."

Phil took another sip and shifted to get a bit more comfortable as he drank. Barton was sipping his own and didn't seem bothered to be sitting with Phil. He briefly wondered if that would change if someone else was around. Everyone else was asleep though. Barton was a solid presence next to Phil and seemed to be radiating calm. They might not be friendly, but this was actually nice.

*

He scowled as he watched the sunrise. The archer was clever, more clever than he had given the human credit for. He knew the archer had been in the library, but somehow he'd been able to pass from the library to another building. From there he'd gotten lost in the flow of human scum leaving the building.

He wished that he'd been gifted with the sight to see what was inside a person, then he would have been able to follow the archer to his hole. 

However, his gift had to replace what had been lost long ago as he tried to…

Pain shot up his arm and he let the thoughts pass. It didn't matter how he'd lost, it had been replaced by his master.

**Author's Note:**

> Character Death: Felix Blake.


End file.
